Guys, Rutgers was up 12 with under ten minutes left in the game, it should never have even gotten to this point.
Even before the traveling calls and double dribbles.
Michigan went on a 17-4 run to take the lead. Rutgers shot the ball like absolute ****. 25% from the field in the 2nd Half and 10% from deep. If I'm Pikiell, I'm telling my guys in the huddle during a timeout to settle down and look for better shots closer to the basket or to attack the rim (possibly draw fouls). They just continued to take too many contested jump shots from beyond mid-range.
Also, Rutgers didnt' play an ounce of defense in this game. It was terrible. The layup lines in the 2nd Half were unreal for Michigan. They finished with 48 points in the paint. YOU CANNOT ALLOW THAT.
The refs are part of the equation but the refs didn't cause an absolute meltdown for a team that was in control and up double figures.
I don't know why your message board handle bothers me so much with these taeks...but it does.
I want my insider to actually be a knowledgeable bball poster I suppose.
Do we understand how basketball works? Teams go on runs. Michigan turned up their defensive pressure and our best players looked gassed out there because of it. Credit to Michigan and it's why they are a top team in the conference.
Tell them to settle down and attack the rim. Amazing stuff I'm sure nothing like that was said in the huddle.
Totally disagree about ounce of defense. 11 steals doesn't happen without a ton of defensive effort. Tons of full court pressure with Ace and Dylan both spending a ton of effort to bother Mich. But trying to stop two seven footers with the lineup we are putting out there is a tough ask and it's going to lead to points in the paint. We also exploited those matchups on the offense end with our speed an athleticism.
And with the bad stretch in the second half the team did enough to win. It was snatched from them by two missed calls and a shot from the parking lot.
I don't think it's unreasonable to be very disappointed about the season while also standing up and applauding that effort and being proud of the team/bitterly upset about the loss.